Amnesty International has documented how widespread and chronic malnutrition, which suppresses people’s immune system, has triggered epidemics and mass outbreaks of illnesses related to poor diet. Interviews with North Koreans depict a country that professes to have a universal (free) health care system but in reality struggles to provide even the most basic service to the population. For this report, between November 2009 and June 2010, AI interviewed more than 40 North Koreans, as well as organizations and health professionals who work with North Koreans. Source: Amnesty International

The political prisoners’ camps (PPC) in North Korea represent a core issue of human rights violations. PPC represent the most serious violations of human rights, perhaps unparalleled in world history, in terms of the number of victims, the nature of processes leading to detention, length in time of the camps’ existence, charges against the detainees and horrendous living conditions. The objective of this survey report is to present an overall and systematic analysis of PPC on the basis of in-depth interviews with North Korean witnesses in respect to the nature of human rights violation in PPC, the degree to which they are systematic, and the analysis and assessment of changes since the 1990s. Source: National Human Rights Commission of Korea

A report examining and systematizing the situation of human rights violations faced by North Korean refugee women in the process of their escape from North Korea and their resettlement, with a goal to improve North Korean refugee women's human rights situation and the proposal of relevant policy implications. Source: National Human Rights Commission of Korea

This 23-page report documents how such children live without legal identity or access to elementary education. These children live in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in eastern Jilin Province, northeast China (near its border with North Korea). Some are from North Korea while others were born in China and have Chinese fathers and North Korean mothers. Source: Human Rights Watch

This 34-page report examines recent worrisome developments in North Korea’s food policies, its marginalization of the World Food Programme (WFP), its refusal to allow adequate monitoring of food aid, and the implications of the government’s new policies. Human Rights Watch noted that only a decade ago, similar policies led to the famine that killed anywhere from 580,000 to more than 3 million, according to independent researchers and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). Source: Human Rights Watch

The Third Report by Lord Alton of Liverpool and Baroness Cox of Queensburry. This report chronicles the findings of Lord Alton and Baroness Cox on their third visit to North Korea in October of 2010. The report looks to find a way towards a permanent piece treaty. It suggests confidence building measures, examines the human right situation in North Korea, and builds on their previous two reports. Source: Jubilee Campaign

By Grace M. Kang. Since October of 2002, the international community has been focused solely on resolving the issue of North Korea's pursuit of nuclear weapons capability, despite other significant threats posed by the reclusive regime. These problems include North Korea's probable possession of one of the world's largest chemical weapons arsenals, its biological weapons capability, its trade in missiles and illegal goods, its potential linkage to terrorists, and its horrendous human rights violations.
A comprehensive solution to the threats posed by the DPRK is necessary for achieving true security. Linkage of various issues, including human security and economic benefits, should be utilized to achieve progress. This solution should incorporate existing legal conventions to create an architecture of standards for achieving security. Broadening the scope of negotiations also provides more opportunities for cooperation on economic, scientific, and educational issues. East Asian states should seize the opportunity to find common ground and create a permanent security structure for the region. Resolving the DPRK problem within this context would improve the prospect for a more…

By Grace M. Kang. This article provides a factual overview of the human rights violations of the North Korean government. It shows how the ICC could have jurisdiction over these crimes, and provides the legal framework for prosecution. It concludes that it is reasonable to hold Kim Jong Il individually liable for these crimes against humanity. Source: Bepress

Prepared by David Hawk for the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. "Thank You Father Kim Il Sung" is an eyewitness account of the severe violations of freedom of though, conscience, and religion in North Korea. Source: U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom

By David Hawk. An Analysis of the Phenomena of Repression Associated With North Korea's Kwan-li-so Political Penal Labor Camps According to the Terms and Provisions of Article 7 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court of the Parallel Provisions of Customary International Law on Crimes Against Humanity. Source: Freedom House